Ivy League Sexcapades

As freshmen settle into campus and grow acquainted with Princeton's social life, probably one of the last things on their minds is the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) on campus. By this point, they have been to mandatory meetings about alcohol abuse and been warned of the evils of sexual assault through "Sex on a Saturday Night," but they have not had any structured discussion regarding STIs at Princeton. The only organized freshman activity offering any discussion of STIs is "Sex Jeopardy," a game played during an often ill-attended, post-Freshman Week study break where students learn disjointed facts about sexual health and almost no information regarding STI's on campus,

The University is content to tell us the relative frequency of STIs treated at McCosh through "Sex Jeopardy"; apparently genital warts is the most commonly treated, followed by genital herpes and chlamydia. This is interesting, but tells us nothing about how prevalent STIs actually are at Princeton. Given this lack of information, coupled with the apparent belief that higher SAT scores guarantee safe sexual activity, it is easy to see how a recklessly unexamined sense of security pervades Princeton.

I tried last spring to get a general idea of the state of STIs on campus. Based on this unscientific, and certainly unsatisfactory, research, it seems that the " STIs are not common at Princeton" myth is false. First, a friend reports being told by a Sexual Health Advisor (SHA) that one in four people have genital herpes nationally and that, according to informal estimates, Princeton is no different. A nurse at McCosh confirmed this for me. She also indicated that chlamydia is a problem on campus, something students should certainly know. Another friend of mine heard the same from yet another SHA. Many of the McCosh officials with whom I spoke agreed that Princeton should not be considered a "safer" place in terms of the risk of contracting an STI. Certainly, this informal information is not rigorous; better data are needed. But this is precisely why the University ought to be more forthcoming in this area.

Where can we find the actual data? McCosh does keep track of the number of cases of each STI that it treats and is even required by law to report cases of HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia to the state of New Jersey, but it fails to provide this information to incoming students. Why are we students kept in blissful ignorance of the dangerous reality of STIs on campus, and how can we take this problem seriously without hearing any verifiable data about Princeton? Is the "Orange Bubble" a prophylactic? Can board games supplant structured knowledge critical for informed choices?

One nurse told me outright that "while students here tend to think that they are less at risk for contracting STIs since they tend to be well-educated and must therefore take the proper precautions, the exact opposite is true: They still get physical, and they still get emotional." The University deludes itself if it thinks that "Sex Jeopardy" adequately prepares Princetonians for the dangers of STIs. Once again, informed decision-making requires facts about the University, and Princetonians are mature enough to handle them without childish games.

This is not about traditional versus liberal sexual mores. Whatever our views about sexual conduct, we all agree that informed consent is necessary. It is wrong to deprive us of the information that makes informed decision-making possible. Verifiable facts and numbers about Princeton make this problem more realistic and give us the tools to make informed decisions.

All Princeton students should know where our campus stands concerning STIs along with the relevant information to protect ourselves from infection. Consequently, we should be hearing that genital herpes is frequently acquired on campus through unprotected oral sex with a partner who has a common oral variant of the herpes virus, which is something I learned from another McCosh official. We should be hearing that genital herpes and HPV are very prevalent here and can be spread through skin-to-skin contact even when a condom is used and no blisters or warts are present. We should be hearing that these lifelong diseases are more common than we think since most infected people show no symptoms. We should be hearing that being at Princeton makes us no less at risk of becoming infected. We should be hearing all of this information during Freshman Week so that all our choices can be informed. Sadly, this is not the case, and a false sense of security remains. Kyle Smith is an economics major from Oakton, Va. He may be reached at kyles@princeton.edu.